Full Pints Volume 17 Issue 3

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Ayrshire and Wigtownshire CAMRA Branch

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Autumn 2015

See pages 16/17 for details

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ALSO INSIDE: CHAMPION BEER OF BRITAIN WINNERS; BRANCH PRESENTATIONS; LOCAL NEWS; FESTIVAL REVIEWS; FORTHCOMING MEETINGS AND OUTINGS; TRIP REPORTS

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Troon Concert Hall

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1st – 3rd October

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Winner THE Y OF E

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Special Award

Scotland and Northern Ireland Region

Family run village inn located on the harbour in the picturesque fishing village of Isle of Whithorn

2014/15 Countryfile Magazine Rural Pub of the Year

SUMMER HOURS (until Nov): Every Day, 11am–11pm OUR NEW, IN-HOUSE FIVE KINGDOMS BREWERY NOW PRODUCING A RANGE OF QUALITY REAL ALES Timothy Taylor Landlord plus five guest ales always available ⅓ pint beer taster platters available for same price as a pint

Outside seating area on the harbourside. Children and Dogs Welcome.

Lunches 12-2pm. Snack Menu 2-6pm (Fri-Sun).

Evening Meals 6.30-9pm.

Sunday Carvery, 12-3pm: 3 Courses £12 Thursday Steak Night: Galloway Sirloin £12 Selection of local seafood dishes always available All food freshly prepared on the premises.

Daily chef ’s specials using the finest fresh produce and local seafood.

ACCOMMODATION

Comfortable en suite accommodation overlooking the harbour From £30 pppn B&B. Special accommodation offers to CAMRA members.

For bookings: visit our website, or call Alastair on 01988 500334 Email: steampacketinn@btconnect.com

www.thesteampacketinn.biz 2

www.awcamra.org.uk

NEWS

Ayrshire & Wigtownshire Brewery and Beer of the Year 2015 Presentations At our Branch AGM earlier this year, Ayr Brewing Company was voted as our Brewery of the Year for 2015.

Volume 17, Issue 3 Ayrshire and Wigtownshire CAMRA Branch Chairman: Lindsay Grant Email: chair@awcamra.org.uk Secretary: Karen Grant Email: secretary@awcamra.org.uk Minutes of Branch Meetings are available to members from the Secretary.

Congratulations to Anthony Valenti (right) and Paul Rossi (middle) on the award. A presentation was held on 14th July at the Glen Park Hotel, Ayr when Branch Chairman Lindsay Grant handed over the certificate. The Glen Park Hotel held the 1st Ayr Beer Festival featuring over 20 guest real ales just as this edition of Full Pints was due back from the printers. More about it in the next edition!

Editor: Stuart McMahon, 93 Montfode Drive, Ardrossan KA22 7PH Tel: 01294 603848 Email: fullpints@awcamra.org.uk

Also at the AGM, Inveralmond Brewery won the Beer of the Year vote for Ossian, their 4.1% ABV pale golden ale.

Websites: www.awcamra.org.uk www.ayrshirebeerfestival.co.uk

A bus outing was arranged to visit the Perth-based brewery and the presentation was made on 29th August.

Vice-chairman Ian Middleditch presented Ken Duncan (left) and Fergus Clark (middle) with the certificate. Ken gave us an in-depth tour of the brewery and this was followed by sampling two of their cask ales - Fair Maid and SCAA (which supports the local air ambulance charity). A very big thank you to Inveralmond for their hospitality.

@awcamra; @troonbeerfest

This was followed by a visit to the nearby Bankfoot Inn – Tayside CAMRA’s Pub of the Year – where 4 ales and a Cairn o’ Mohr cider were available. The return journey also saw us calling in at Dunblane for an extended visit to some of the town’s pubs after the bus developed a technical problem.

Advertising: Mike Tomlinson Email: advertising@awcamra.org.uk Advertising Rates: Full Page: £60 ½ Page: £35

Ayrshire & Wigtownshire CAMRA Ayrshire Real Ale Festival Full Pints is designed by Montfode Design, www.md93.co.uk and printed by Brown Brothers Printers, Irvine, www.brown-bros.com. At least 2,500 copies are published every 3 months and distributed to all Real Ale outlets in our region.

The views expressed in this publication are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the editor or of the Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. © Campaign for Real Ale Ltd

The next edition of will be published in December 2015.

Articles, photos and other contributions should be sent to the editor no later than Friday 13th November 2015.

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NEWS

Champion Beer of Britain 2015 This year’s Champion Beer of Britain (CBOB) was announced at CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival in Olympia, London on 11th August.

The overall winner and Gold Medal went to Welsh brewery Tiny Rebel with Cwtch.

The silver medal, and second place, went to Kelburn Brewery’s Jaguar, which also won the Gold medal in the Golden Ales category. This was a tremendous result for Derek Moore and his staff, following on closely from winning the Champion Beer of Scotland last year with Dark

Extra supplies of Jaguar being hurridly sent down to GBBF.

Moor. In third place, with the Bronze medal was Dancing Duck Dark Drake.

Scotland was well represented in the category awards with Williams Black winning Gold in the Mild category, Highland Brewing winning Silver in the Best Bitter category with Scapa Special, and Fyne Ales winning Silver with Superior IPA in the Champion Bottle Conditioned Beers competition. Congratulations to all the winners.

Derek Moore with an award-winning pint of Jaguar at GBBF. Photo: ©Danny Mathieson

Branch Pub of the Year Presentation

Too late for inclusion in the last edition of Full Pints, but pictured below is the presentation to Murray Thomson and his staff at The Saracen’s Head Hotel, Beith for winning the branch Pub of the Year award. Unfortunately, the Saracen’s Head didn’t reach the final stages for the Scottish POTY Award. The Scottish and other regional UK winners will be announced in early September.

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Champion Beer of Scotland 2015 This year’s Champion Beer of Scotland was announced at CAMRA’s Scottish Real Festival in Edinburgh back in July. The winner was Cairngorm Black Gold, 2nd Highland Scapa Special, 3rd Cromarty Red Rocker and 4th Cairngorm Wildcat.

Black Gold has won numerous awards including winning Silver in the 2014 Champion Winter Beer of Britain competition, and SIBA’s UK Supreme Champion in 2009. Cairngorm Brewery also won the CBOB title back in 2004 with Trade Winds. A worthy winner and well worth popping in to the brewery in Aviemore if you’re ever heading up the A9.

Pictured above: Ray Turpie, CAMRA Scotland & Northern Ireland Director presenting the award to Alison Graham and Ian McBean from Cairngorm Brewery. Photo: Bill Wilkinson

New real ale outlet in Kilmarnock Situated across the road from the Dick Institute, Franklin & Sloane is Kilmarnock’s newest food and drink outlet. They have a house “Kilmarnock Craft Brew” on cask along with Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted, plus other non-cask ‘craft’ ales. Watch out in the next edition of Full Pints for details of our Branch Festive Crawl which for the first time will be visiting various outlets in Kilmarnock on Monday 28th December.

Photo: ©Franklin & Sloane

Ale coming soon to Kilwinning?

It’s hard to believe that Kilwinning doesn’t have any pubs that sell real ale. But that could be about to change. The Home bar is coming under the management of John Cairns, landlord at Kilmarnock’s

Braehead Bar, which recently introduced well-conditioned real ale at remarkably cheap prices, and has a second handpump due to come online late September. Home Kilwinning, situated in the town’s Main Street,

is starting bar meals from 1st Sept, with 2and 3-course specials available Mon-Fri. John hopes to get brewery approval to install a handpump soon.

Also, on the Stevenston / Kilwinning boundary, work has now started

at the Pennyburn Roundabout on a small retail park which will include a Marston’s pub / restaurant, which is due to open in 2016, along with other fast food takeaways.

Fanny by Gaslight festival As part of Fanny by Gaslight’s recent ‘Real Ale, food and music festival’, 15 members attended a very enjoyable evening of poems, piping and songs with members of the Burns Federation on Monday 10th August. Real ales on offer were Drygate Pale Duke, Black Wolf Gold Digger,

Deeside Swift, Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted and Orkney Red McGregor. A real ale passport costing £10 gave 10 one-third pints against the normal price of £3.40. All present were treated to haggis, neeps and tatties.

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Pump Clips and Beer Labels Produced Locally Tucked away in an industrial estate in Kilbirnie, Wades Print is quietly designing and printing everything a brewery needs. With an increasing portfolio of clients, they offer unique and creative ideas that will make the products stand out - such as the logos, pump clips and labels for the awardwinning Kelburn Brewery and Ayr Brewing Company.

Every brewery, and indeed every beer, is different – some products require a contemporary modern craft beer identity – but they understand a traditional design is still relevant. They can print from 100 to 100,000 beer labels, with bespoke shapes and sizes and the option of foiled or embossed finishing.

For a bespoke quote on branding, rebranding or any other products please contact George Glen at george@wadesprint.co.uk or call 01505 685311.

Champion Beer of Britain Voting Whilst the CBOB has just been announced, the nomination process for next year’s Champion Beer of Britain will be open from the 1st September 2015. Make sure you take part and nominate the best beers produced in your region – more details will be sent out to members soon. Remember, voting is only open to CAMRA members, but let the world of social media know when you have picked yours with #votecbob.

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Arran Food and Drink Festival On Sat 11th July, fifteen Branch CAMRA members headed overseas on the Calmac ferry to visit the Arran Food and Drink Festival being held at the Kinloch Hotel, Blackwaterfoot.

This event is becoming increasingly popular and the Stagecoach buses were kept busy heading over the String Road to the quiet village of Blackwaterfoot.

On arrival for opening time at 11.30am there was already a large queue, which never really seemed to diminish until mid afternoon, and by the end of the day an amazing 1,100 people had attended the festival. Within the hotel grounds there was a multitude of tents, including the beer tent which had 15 guest ales available, including the Kinloch’s new Ayr-brewed house ale “Uisge Dubh”.

On the whole the ales were in good condition and were complemented with a cider bar featuring 8 real ciders.

Other stalls were manned

by Caledonian Beer, Old Mout Cider, Arran Whisky and a wine bar. There was some delicious home-cooked food provided by the Kinloch (the fish and chips was very good value), whilst Arran Cheese and a local delicatessen provided alternative nibbles.

There was live music throughout the day, and whilst we were there Arran Brass Band, Arran Jazz Band and the Arran Pipe Band had entertained us, with other bands playing on into the evening.

in the Ormidale Hotel where Arran Brewery’s Arran Ale and Ayr Uisge Dubh was available, whilst others took the bus via the southend of the island. All in all, a very pleasant day out.

Good luck to the Kinloch Hotel, as it has been shortlisted for Best Community Pub in the forthcoming SLTN Awards.

Finalists will be announced at the end of October.

With the weather closing in somewhat, our group split up for the return journey. Two of us headed on the bus up to the Catacol Bay Hotel, where Timothy Taylor’s Landlord was in superb condition, along with MòR-ish from Dundee.

Others took the direct bus back to Brodick and ended up

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FRASERS BAR Millport

Find us just up the road from the pier

Quality Cask Ales Served All Year Meals Served Every Day 12 noon-2.30pm / 5.30pm-7.30pm

“Island Escape” self-catering 4-star luxury accommodation Book at: www.cottages4u.co.uk Ref: 30200

7 Cardiff Street, Millport, Isle of Cumbrae KA28 0AS Tel: 01475 530518 8

www.awcamra.org.uk

Trip to Kings Arms Hotel, Barr

On Friday 31st July, 23 folks travelled down to the Kings Arms Hotel, Barr for their beer festival weekend. By the time we reached the remote South Ayrshire village the weather had turned for the worse (unsurprisingly for this summer), but we were warmly welcomed into the hotel which had 6 real ales available – Ayr Fair Jenny’s Jig and Betty and the Gardens, Bosun’s Brewing Company Bosun’s Mate and Bermuda Triangle, and a surprise from the Isle of Whithorn, Five Kingdoms’ Stout and American Pale Ale. All were very good. Some special festival food was also on offer from the Hotel’s kitchen and was greatly enjoyed. A local band, The Barrstools, were playing in the bar when we sadly had to leave just after 9pm, in order to allow folks to get homeward travel from Ayr and Prestwick. Full Pints understands that the lease is about to expire at the Kings Arms. We hope that a community buyout may be successful and that it will continue to serve real ale and be a focal point for the local community.

Glasgow Real Ale Festival (GRAF) The second Glasgow Real Ale Festival (GRAF) was held once again in The Briggait back in June.

With over 100 ales available, this event has now firmly established itself.

Attendance over the three days was up on last year but the beer lasted into Saturday evening. The Glasgow and West of Scotland CAMRA Branch also gained their 1,000th member at the event, aided by Bob Wallace, CAMRA’s Scottish Membership coordinator extraordinaire! Beer of the festival as chosen by the public was WooHa Porter, from

the newly opened brewery based in Nairn.

Scottish Real Ale Festival (SRAF) On the opposite side of the country, the Scottish Real Ale Festival at the Corn Exchange, Slateford, Edinburgh also was a huge success. Attendance was up considerably this year, to the extent that the Sunday session was cancelled as the beer ran out on Saturday night. Well worth a visit if you haven’t done so yet – next year’s dates have already been announced: Thurs 7th – Sun 10th July.

Photo: ©Malcolm McLean

Photo: ©Malcolm McLean

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It is hard to believe it is almost a year since we celebrated the 40th anniversary of Scottish Branches at a well attended reunion in Callum’s, Johnstone. We also took the opportunity to present the Dan Kane Quaich to Derek Moore of Kelburn Brewery for Dark Moor, the 2014 Champion Beer of Scotland (CBOS).

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by Ray Turpie, Scotland and Northern Ireland Director (SNID)

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CAMRA Scotland’s 40th Anniversary Year Review

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The Scottish and NI Pub of the Year (SNIPOTY) for 2014 was the Steam Packet Inn, Isle of Whithorn which goes from strength to strength.

Alistair Scoular has recently opened a micro-brewery at the rear of the pub called the Five Kingdoms Brewery. It is claimed you can see five kingdoms from the car park on a good day.

Following some in-depth research since our 40th Anniversary booklet “Cheers” was produced, the number of breweries in Scotland has now gone up from 82 to over 110! I was pleased to see that the publication was commended at the National Conference in Nottingham. Thank you all who contributed to the success.

One of the first tasks I was asked to organise as SNID was a Super Regional Conference for the north of the country. I put a pin in the map on Troon and drew a 200 mile radius which I thought might be reasonable for members to travel. This almost takes in Inverness, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Carlisle and Belfast. It was reasonably well attended in November and was in the top half of satisfaction statistics produced after all the events took place.

Towards the end of the year, campaign gains were made with the introduction of a pub adjudicator for England and Wales and a market free option for tied pub tenants. A meeting was held early in the New Year to persuade the Scottish Government to adopt similar legislation but it took until May to secure a commitment from Fergus Ewing to agree to a review of the tied pub situation in Scotland. We will keep up the pressure on the run up to the election.

Following the General Election, I attended a CAMRA reception in London for all the new MPs at Westminster. A handful of Scottish MPs attended so I was able to make them aware of our campaign aims. Unfortunately no MPs turned up from Northern Ireland which goes to show how difficult a job it is for members from over the water to make progress in this direction.

More pressing at the moment is the campaign to alleviate the effect of the reduction in the Drink Driving limits on rural pubs.

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www.awcamra.org.uk

Saracen’s Head Hotel GOOD FOOD : GOOD BEER Outside Bars and Catering 2 Real Ales usually available SPECIAL OFFER: Mon-Thurs: only £2.50/pint Search for: SariBarBeith

10-12 Eglinton Street, Beith KA15 1AQ Tel: 01505 502329 I have raised this nationally and am hopeful of funds being made available to SNIB although I consider this a national problem. Both campaigns were highlighted at the Parliamentry Reception in Holyrood in June. Two members from Northern Ireland joined us to observe proceedings as they wish the same for Stormont.

In the spring, the new Chief Executive of CAMRA, Tim Page, visited both Scotland and Northern Ireland and I managed to arrange meetings with many members from different areas. I think he appreciated the effort we made. We had interesting meetings in Kilmarnock and Belfast to discuss local concerns. We even managed to attend the Fife Beer Festival in Glenrothes on set-up day which Tim thoroughly enjoyed, going home with a tee shirt for helping out.

I have managed to visit all our SNIB beer festivals at some point to support the great effort made by volunteers. This is very much appreciated and surpluses raised help to keep the campaign moving forward. Similarly, branch officials do a tremendous amount of work and I try to attend all branch AGMs but inevitably, for some I am double booked and arrange a delegated SNIB Officer to substitute.

This brings me full circle as I prepare to spend a week at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) in London. I have arranged a few meetings there, in between pulling pints, to press the issues which concern SNIB members. Let us all raise a full pint of real ale in September to the next 40 years.

Cheers, Ray. 11

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WELLINGTONS BAR Traditional Bar ~ Traditional Ales Traditional Music • Basement bar within yards of beautiful Ayr beach • Three handpumps now available, serving quality ales usually from Fyne Ales, Kelburn, Orkney and Harviestoun • Renowned for our promotion of traditional music – sessions every Sunday night • Longest running Quiz night every Wednesday • DJ every Saturday • Small parties very welcome • 35ml measures

17 Wellington Square, Ayr KA7 1EZ Tel: 01292 262794 Email: welliesayr@hotmail.co.uk www.welliesbar.weebly.com

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IGHT AY N M D N MO UIZ 9P Q K LY WEE ALE T GUES ED S E RV F O O DP M D A I L Y 7 TILL

thethreereasonslargs

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THREE

REASONS G d Drink, G d F d, G d Times!

FREE HOUSE | BAR & DINER

14 GALLOW GATE S TREET, LA RGS KA 30 8LX C AL L: 01475 672330 MAIL: enquiries@thethreereasons.co.uk VIS IT: www.thethreereasons.co.uk

The Golf Inn, Prestwick 154 Main Street, KA9 1PB. Tel: 01292 476711 Now Serving Real Ale Food Served Daily Weekly Karaoke & Quiz Nights 13

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Visit to Black Sheep and Theakston Breweries, Masham, North Yorkshire by John Cairns, A&W Branch Member

Back in July I visited the Black Sheep Brewery and Visitor Centre in Masham, North Yorkshire, first passing the Ewe Beer Garden.

On arrival I spoke to Phil Douglas who is in charge of the brewing, with the hands-on work carried out by Glasgow born brewer, Glen Simpson, who stated they still use the two Welsh Slate Fermentation Tanks at the brewery which are awkward to clean, but that they are currently experimenting with five-barrel brewing tanks for new ales. The current managing director of the Black Sheep Brewery is Robbie Theakston, the son of Paul Theakston who is the cousin of Simon Theakston, the licensee of the nearby Theakston Brewery.

I started with the important part of my visit with a tasting of the ales on tap with an impressive Imperial Russian Stout at 8.5% ABV, which is a black sweet ale with the head butt of a ram – you will need picked up after a few of these!

I finished my lunch time visit with a pint of Riggwelter, 5.9% ABV – named after a Yorkshire term for being on your back with your legs in the air – and a Riggy Burger made with the ale. A most pleasant visit with great beers and good food and a shepherded tour of the brewery if you can spare the time from tasting the produce.

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Onwards then to the Theakston Brewery and the “Black Bull in Paradise” Visitor Centre. It is a short 10 minute journey away via the local short cut that goes past the White Bear Hotel – which displays the history of the Theakston Family and a large selection of the local Ales.

Theakstons is one of the last remaining brewers in the country employing a full time craft cooper, with Jonathan Manby making the oak casks. You know you are in for something special as Old Peculier, 5.6% ABV is always served in a wooden cask.

But it was time for some Theakston’s tastings.

New to me was the Barista Stout, 4.2% ABV, brewed using seven cereal malts and finest coffee.

It has the active yeast filtered out giving it a longer lifespan in the barrel and is chilled. It was perfect on a hot day in the beer garden and, although I can’t confirm it, the coffee taste and smell convinced me it had caffeine in it because it woke me right up.

Next was the Theakston Crime of Passion, 4.2% ABV. Blood red in colour, this is a citrus type ale and according to the beer guide has a taste very similar to cyanide! Either way it didn’t kill me. I am not a fan of this type of beer normally but it was very nice.

Finally, onto my old favourites and you can come and review the above yourselves but I must mention the Old Peculier, 5.6% ABV, with its distinctive unique flavour out of the Oak Cask. Five out of five from me. I’m already looking forward to my next visit.

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Main Festival Sponsor

1st - 3rd October 2015

Troon Concert Hall Two bars featuring 150+ Real Ales from around the UK plus Cider & Perry

2nd BAR THEME: BEERS FROM ISLANDS AROUND THE UK Thurs 1st October 12 noon (CAMRA members’ preview) 2pm – 11pm (Public) Fri 2nd / Sat 3rd October 11am – 11pm

LIVE MUSIC

FRIDAY NIGHT Simon Atkinson & The Foundryman’s Apprentice SATURDAY AFTERNOON Irvine & District Pipe Band SATURDAY NIGHT Duffy’s Gypsy Band

ADMISSION (over 18’s only) Public: £5, CAMRA: £3 Thursday only - under 25’s: £3

www.ayrshirebeerfestival.co.uk 16

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Forthcoming Festivals This has been an amazing year for beer festivals, both CAMRAorganised ones through to an increasing number of independent festivals. Here are a few more that are worth visiting in the next few months.

At the end of September, the independent Cove & Kilcreggan Beer Festival takes place in the Cove Hall on Sat 26th Sept. A short hop over on the ferry from Gourock!

Forth Valley CAMRA’s Alloa OctoberFest Beer Festival is in Alloa Town Hall on 30th-31st October and will feature around 60 ales.

Carlisle Beer Festival will have 55+ real ales and cider available from Thurs 5th - Sat 7th November. Held in the Hallmark Hotel, which is located right outside the station.

Northern Ireland CAMRA’s Belfast Beer Festival takes place in the city’s Ulster Hall on 19th 21st November. There’s usually a few folk from Ayrshire go over on the ferry from Cairnryan to support this festival.

On 20th - 21st November there will be a small festival in the Garnock Community Social Club, Kilbirnie, which will be run in association with CAMRA and is being organised by branch member Ian Martin. More details nearer the time.

There will be a A&W Branch Social at it on Friday evening.

Visit www.alesela.co.uk/blog/?p=750 for a listing of other festivals being held around Scotland.

Our own festival, the best in the west, the amazing 16th Ayrshire Real Ale Festival is in Troon Concert Hall from Thurs 1st October - Sat 3rd October.

Our second bar this year will be an ‘island bar’ – beers sourced from the islands around the UK – from Jersey all the way up to Shetland (hopefully!).

There will be over 150 ales, and about 30 varieties of real cider and perry.

There’s live music on Friday Night (Simon Atkinson & The Foundryman’s Apprentice), Sat afternoon (Irvine & District Pipe Band) and Sat night (Duffy’s Gypsy Band).

Any new members joining CAMRA will go into a prize draw for a 2-night B&B stay at the Crown Hotel, Portpatrick.

We’re also looking for feedback on the festival this year and anyone completing a short questionnaire will be entered into a draw to win a trip for two to Sulwath Brewery AND a copy of the Good Beer Guide! More info at www.ayrshirebeerfestival.co.uk.

Carlisle Beer Festival 2014 17

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A Trainee Bar Manager’s Tale

By Ian Middleditch, A&W CAMRA Vice-Chairman

Beer Festivals don’t just happen! Our own Ayrshire Real Ale Festival in Troon Festival is now in its 16th year and is the result of much careful planning over many months. The organising committee are Real Ale enthusiasts, well experienced in the appreciation of ale, but with little experience in the licensed trade other than as customers.

We have become skilled in what we do, as witnessed by the success of the festival, by sheer hard work and learning on the job.

However there is always a nagging doubt that we could do things better or even differently! When CAMRA HQ offered training in Festival Bar Management we thought it would be useful to have a representative on the course. Guess who got lucky?

The course was a week long and was delivered at the Winter Ales Festival in February 2015.

Much reading material was in my hands before the event and I arrived early on the Saturday full of facts but keen to put the theory into practice. The paperwork had not prepared me for the magnificence of the venue, nor the sheer magnitude of the festival.

The Derby Roundhouse is an ideal setting being right next to the railway station, having been the main locomotive shed built at the very dawn of railways for the Midland Railway company.

The Roundhouse was the largest of the spaces being used – this listed building still had a turntable at its centre with rails radiating out, where the locomotives were stabled, still in place.

Additional space was provided in various redundant workshop buildings, converted for functions etc, and a music marquee pitched just outside along with a mass of portable toilets! The Winter Ales Festival features 450+ ales, plus ciders and foreign beers and had an anticipated turnout of 13,000 customers – hence the space requirements!

I met up with my fellow trainees and tutor who, after a safety briefing, straightway put us to work erecting stillage and staging casks. The first was the easy bit but then things took a turn as we were being very careful with safety and had to use electric cask lifters to get the casks onto the stillage. It certainly is much easier and less stressful on the volunteers, but it is very slow compared to the 3 man lift we have used at Troon. It took us till after lunch before we had 4 bays completed and that with a team of 7!

It was not all physical work, as various experts were called in to give us pearls of wisdom and advice. Much time was spent on health & safety and cask cooling, followed by a long period of time connecting and testing coolers and pipes. Thank goodness Troon is held in the Autumn when cooling is not normally required!

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By the Monday, all the beers were broached and vented and it was starting to look like a beer festival. I really enjoyed the testing sessions and learned a lot about the infections and contaminations which can infest ale if not handled properly. The festival had its own lab and microbiologist on site, and I found it fascinating watching her analysing beers slow to clear or with odd flavours. The importance of strict hygiene practice when broaching and tapping was very apparent and something we will be taking on board at Troon.

The festival opened on the Wednesday with the Winter Ales competition final being held in the morning, where I got the job of filling glasses!

In the afternoon there was a trade session at which more than 1,000 people turned up from local pubs and breweries.

30 odd casks were ‘free’ to all having been donated by breweries plus the other 400-odd ales were available for purchase. I did manage to sample one or two, but by the time the general public were admitted the free beer was long gone!

The rest of the week went like any other festival but we trainees were kept at work long into the night replacing empty casks with full ones from the reserve store in a refrigerated container in the car park. One night we replaced a full brewery bars ales, 7 different beers, such was the demand.

Additionally we had lectures and assessments to complete, some very interesting and informative, others less so but nevertheless useful in that we became aware of much which the ordinary volunteer will never need to consider.

The festival finished on Saturday evening but the course finished at lunchtime so I was free to enjoy a few beers with my fellow students before travelling home in the afternoon. On the train home I enjoyed my carry-out and reflected on what I had learned from my experience – quite a lot as it turns out – but I was very pleased to find that the organisation we have in place for Troon is very much on the ball.

Just to finish – on the Friday afternoon we had a short lecture from the staffing department about the difficulties of attracting enough volunteers. No problem with help setting up and serving beer, but volunteers to dismantle on the Sunday – no chance!

Now isn’t that just like Troon!

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Houston

Bute

Largs

Millport

Fairlie Kilbirnie Ardrossan Kilmaurs

Catacol Arran

Lugton Dunlop Strathaven

Kilmarnock

Saltcoats Brodick Irvine Troon Lamlash

Blackwaterfoot

Drygate

Kelburn

Beith

Lochranza

Jaw

Sorn

Prestwick Ayr

Alloway

Ayr Stair

Lola Rose

Dalrymple

Kirkmichael Kirkoswald Barr

Bargrennan Kirkcolm Stranraer

Sulwath

New Luce Newton Stewart

Portpatrick Portpatrick

Sandhead

Wigtown Bladnoch

Not to scale. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey map data by permission of the Ordnance Survey Š Crown Copyright 2015

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Drummore

Isle of Whithorn Five Kingdoms

www.awcamra.org.uk

AYRSHIRE & WIGTOWNSHIRE REAL ALE OUTLETS ISLE OF ARRAN

SOUTH AYRSHIRE

EAST AYRSHIRE

BLACKWATERFOOT Blackwaterfoot Lodge * Kinloch Hotel

ALLOWAY Cambusdoon Sports Club

DALRYMPLE Kirkton Inn

AYR Abbotsford Hotel Ayrshire & Galloway Chestnuts Hotel Geordie’s Byre Glen Park Hotel Harry’s Bar Newton Arms Smoking Goat Tam O’ Shanter Twa Dugs Wellingtons Bar West Kirk

DUNLOP Auld Hoose Merito

BRODICK Brodick Bar Ormidale Hotel Wine Port CATACOL Catacol Bay Hotel LAMLASH Drift Inn LOCHRANZA Lochranza Hotel NORTH AYRSHIRE ARDROSSAN Ardrossan Rugby Club # Lauriston Hotel BEITH Saracen’s Head FAIRLIE Village Inn § IRVINE Ship Inn The Auld Brig KILBIRNIE Garnock Community Social Club # LARGS J G Sharps Largs Sailing Club # Lounge MacAulays Three Reasons Waterside

BARR Kings Arms Hotel KIRKMICHAEL Kirkmichael Arms KIRKOSWALD Souter’s Inn PRESTWICK Eagle Tavern * Golf Inn Prestwick Pioneer TROON Bruce’s Well Cheeky Charlie’s Fullartons Harbour Bar Lonsdale Bar * McKay’s Marr Rugby Club # South Beach Hotel

LUGTON Canny Man § MILLPORT Fraser’s Bar SALTCOATS Salt Cot

KILMAURS Weston Tavern SORN Sorn Inn

KILMARNOCK Braehead Bar Brass & Granite Fanny by Gaslight § First Edition Franklin & Sloane Goldberry Arms Wheatsheaf Inn

STAIR Stair Inn WIGTOWNSHIRE BARGRENNAN House O’ Hill Hotel BLADNOCH Bladnoch Inn DRUMMORE Clashwhannon ISLE OF WHITHORN Steam Packet Inn § KIRKCOLM Blue Peter Hotel NEW LUCE Kenmuir Arms Hotel

NEWTON STEWART Creebridge House Hotel Cree Inn Galloway Arms Hotel PORTPATRICK Crown Hotel Harbour House Hotel SANDHEAD Tigh-na-Mara Hotel STRANRAER Grapes § Ruddicot Hotel WIGTOWN Wigtown Ploughman

Every CAMRA member can score ales they drink in their local pub using the WhatPub app and website, www.whatpub.com.

But what are the benefits? Well, all scores go towards whether an outlet is considered for inclusion in the Good Beer Guide, and, if there is a trend of low scores for any outlet, it can alert the committee to possible problems.

Scores are continually required for the whole Branch area but, * CAMRA members have noted that real ale is not in particular, Arran and outlying pubs in East and South Ayrshire always available at these receive very few scores - why not take a few moments to score pubs. your beers on whatpub.com if you visit them?

§ Special offers for card-carrying CAMRA members # Weekends only

Do you know of a pub that sells real ale and isn’t listed? Please let us know.

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Autumn 2015

It’s a Boy! Congratulations to Marie and Michael Anderson on the birth of their son, Joseph, on 16th June, some 5 weeks early, weighing in at just 3lbs 9oz.

Marie has helped as staffing officer at the Troon beer festival, and is the daughter of our Branch chairman, Lindsay Grant. Grumpy Grandpa Grant even had a momentary lapse which caused him to smile for the camera!!! All are doing well, and Joseph is rapidly putting on weight.

Social Trip to Strathaven Ales Another month, another trip!

Our social scene is thriving at the moment and is a great way to socialise, meet new friends and enjoy a variety of ales.

Our outing to Strathaven Ales in June was another example of a great day out. 18 of our branch members met at the brewery and joined up with a small group of friends from the Motherwell / Hamilton area. On tap were Avondale, Claverhouse, Craigmill Mild and Duchess Anne. Glasses filled, and refilled, we were treated to a huge array of barbecued food –

22

burgers, sausages, chicken and the usual side dishes. For once the weather stayed dry and most folk enjoyed the tranquil riverside setting and banter outside the brewery.

Afterwards, a short drive up the road from the brewery saw our bus stopping in Strathaven town centre for a quick visit to a former Glasgow and West of Scotland CAMRA Pub of the Year – the Weavers. All in all, a great day out and a very big thank you to Strathaven brewery for their hospitality.

www.awcamra.org.uk

BRANCH SOCIAL ACTIVITIES Our Branch has Social Groups covering North, South and East Ayrshire, and Wigtownshire. All CAMRA members are encouraged to attend these informal events, but non-CAMRA members are equally welcome. For more information, please contact the area coordinators listed below: North Ayrshire - usually meets 3rd Thursday of every month. Contact Ian Middleditch.

Email: vicechair1@awcamra.org.uk South Ayrshire - contact Caroline Munro for details.

Email: south-ayrshire@awcamra.org.uk East Ayrshire - meets last Wednesday of every month.

Contact Bob Wallace. Email: membership@awcamra.org.uk Wigtownshire - contact Malcolm McNeil for details.

Email: wigtownshire@awcamra.org.uk

Enjoying a wee seat on Arran!

Additionally, the Branch also holds social outings and trips on a regular basis – see www. awcamra.org.uk for details or contact social secretary Donald Clark at social@awcamra.org.uk

OUTLETS NEWS

The following changes in outlets have occurred since the last edition of .

NEW OUTLETS:

Cambusdoon Sports Club, Alloway: One ale from Ayr Brewing Kirkton Inn, Dalrymple: Sharps Doom Bar plus one guest Merito, Dunlop (formerly the Village Inn): One ale available Franklin & Sloane, Kilmarnock: Two ales available

LOSSES:

Kelvin House Hotel, Glenluce: Closed Gateside Inn, Gateside: No ale Do you know of a pub in our branch area that may be interested in selling real ale, or that you think would be ideally suited to selling it? If so, contact our Pubs Officer, Mick Lee at pubs@awcamra. org.uk with details, and we’ll contact them and invite the publican to the Ayrshire Real Ale Festival to find out more, if enough notice is given. This is particularly important in the existing beer deserts such as the Garnock Valley, the Irvine Valley, the Cumnock area and the Doon Valley and Carrick.

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Autumn 2015

The Waterside Bath Street, Largs Tel: 01475 672224

Two Real Ales from Kelburn available

Mondays - Poker Wednesdays - Poker Fridays - Karaoke

Saturdays - Live Music Sundays - Open Mic Night

Food available every day except Monday 24

www.awcamra.org.uk

WhatPub, Beer Scoring and the Good Beer Guide

The Ayrshire & Wigtownshire CAMRA Branch, along with many other branches around the UK, uses scores submitted by CAMRA members via WhatPub.com to help select the best pubs for inclusion in the Good beer Guide.

Branches are allocated a fixed number of entries for their area (in our case we can have up to 27 entries). If you’ve ever wondered why your favourite pub isn’t in the Guide, then it may well be because you, and others, haven’t entered scores rating the quality of beer there. Or if enough scores have been submitted, the average may be too low for an outlet to be considered. So, by beer scoring, you can contribute to the process of selecting our best pubs that go in the Good Beer Guide.

HOW DO I SUBMIT MY SCORES?

HOW SHOULD I SCORE THE QUALITY OF THE BEER?

In order to submit your scores you need to login to CAMRA’s online pub guide www.whatpub.com either on a computer or by smart phone. Here you will find a list of over 35,850 real ale pubs from all over the UK; these are not all Good Beer Guide pubs, merely pubs that serve real ale. In order to start submitting scores you need to:

You don’t have to be an ‘expert’ to begin scoring your beer.

And, it is not about your personal favourite beer receiving the highest scores! You may try a beer that isn’t to your normal taste but what you need to consider is the quality of that beer, how well the pub has kept it and served it, and score it according to the general guide below. It is a simple system based on a range from 0 to 5, with half points being used if your opinion of the beer falls between two categories.

1. Login to What Pub with your membership number (found on your silver membership card) and your CAMRA password. You can request a new password via www.camra.org. uk/login if you have forgotten it.

2. Search for your pub by name or by town.

Searching by town and then by pub avoids searching through many pubs in the country which share the same name. The WhatPub smart phone web page also gives you the option to search for real ale pubs nearby, very useful if you are in an unfamiliar town 3. Once you have found your pub a ‘Submit Beer Scores’ box will appear on the screen.

Simply fill in the date and your score, then type in the brewery name and beer, both of which should automatically appear underneath where you are typing. In some cases the beer you are drinking may be new or a one off by the Brewery so may not appear on the list, if this is the case you can simply type in the beer name. Click ‘submit score’ and your score will be entered into the database. It is as simple as that.

0. Should only be used if no cask ale is available 1. Poor. Beer is anything from barely drinkable to drinkable with considerable resentment.

2. Average. Competently kept, drinkable pint but doesn’t inspire in any way, not worth moving to another pub but you drink the beer without really noticing.

3. Good. Good beer in good form. You may cancel plans to move to the next pub. You want to stay for another pint and may seek out the beer again 4. Very Good. Excellent beer in excellent condition. You stay put!

5. Perfect. Probably the best you are ever likely to find.

A seasoned drinker will award this score very rarely.

An added bonus is that it will keep a record of your scores so you can look back to see what beers you have had, and how you rated them.

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by Ray Turpie, Branch Vice Chairman and Scotland & Northern Ireland CAMRA Director

P

RAY’S ROUND UP

ROUNAutumn D U 2015 Y’S A R

Believe it or not, I did manage to get a visit in to the Great Grampian Beer Festival, the Glasgow Real Ale Festival and the Scottish Real Ale Festival (SRAF) over the summer.

In fact I was on the panel judging Champion Beer of Scotland (CBOS) at the latter and helping Lindsay with the heats for next year. This seems to puzzle some people but the heats referred to are for the 2016 competition and are held throughout the year at various beer festivals for the final at SRAF next year.

the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) in August.

My favourite beer over the three events, however, was Kinniel Wayfinder which is brewed in Bo’ness to commemorate the opening of the John Muir Way, named after the famous Scot who developed the National Parks movement in the USA.

As you will have read in the news section of this edition of Full Pints, the 2015 Champion is Cairngorm Black Gold. A wonderful beer it is too and we wish the brewery good luck for the national finals in London which are held at

Talking about interesting people, I had a meeting in Cardiff over the summer but because it was peak season I stayed in Newport which is the next stop up the line and much cheaper. It was a Friday so I went

26

I am heading off to the States for a short break in September to visit friends in Connecticut so I may be able to visit some of the parks mentioned. If I have any interesting beers or meet any interesting people I will report in the next issue.

www.awcamra.org.uk

over to the Queen’s Hotel for the Fish Friday special and who was standing on his own at the bar but Tim Martin, Chairman and founder of the JD Wetherspoon chain. Apparently he travels around his outlets at random and just happened to be in Newport that day.

Naturally, I went over and introduced myself and we chatted for a few minutes about the problems he had been having in Ireland and CAMRA matters in general. “You won’t get Deuchars in here” he said with a chuckle but I told him I was quite happy to drink Welsh beer when in Wales and ordered a Brains SA. Towering well over my head, “I’ll get that one” he said to the barmaid. What a nice chap.

You usually know what to expect at a ‘Spoons but that was certainly a surprise. For a change, in the evening I went round to the Pen and Wig to watch the football and was glad when Wales beat Belgium 1-0. They had a few Welsh beers on tap so I tried Tiny Rebel Cwtch. The barman told me this is Welsh for a cuddle or a hug and it is pronounced coo-ch. You learn something new every day.

On things new, I was pleased to see the Clutha Bar reopen recently. As it happens, some of us visited this pub on a crawl a few months before the disaster occurred. The murals look

interesting and I hope to visit sometime soon.

A pub walk in Glasgow later in the year might be a good opportunity to show our support over the recent troubles.

Before that though, the 40th Anniversary year of celebrations for Scottish Branches is drawing to a close. I am proposing at the next SNIB meeting to hold an event on the last Saturday of September for all members. That might be a good opportunity to present the 2015 Pub of the Year (POTY) certificate. Watch this space as they say.

At the time of writing this article I’m preparing to spend a week at the aforementioned GBBF pulling pints, but there is a lot to look forward to over the coming autumn period.

One of our local breweries is having its first beer festival at the Glen Park Hotel, Ayr on the first weekend in September to tie in with the Scottish Air Show. This was held in association with CAMRA, so hopefully some of you will have popped in and supported it.

Also, do not forget our own beer festival from 1-3rd October in Troon. Hope to see you there.

In the meantime enjoy the remainder of your summer beers. Cheers!

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Autumn 2015

AUTUMN DIARY DATES SEPTEMBER Fri 4th / Sat 5th Ayr Beer Festival, Glen Park Hotel, Ayr (also Scottish Air Show, Ayr Low Green on Sat). 20+ ales.

12 noon - 10pm both days.

Thurs 17th North Ayrshire Social, The Auld Brig, Irvine, 8pm Sat 19th Branch Social Outing to Bute Brewing Company, Rothesay, Isle of Bute. Email: south-ayrshire@awcamra.org.uk Wed 23rd Branch Meeting and East Ayrshire Social, Franklin & Sloane, Kilmarnock, 7.30pm Tues 29th/Wed 30th Beer Festival setup OCTOBER Thurs 1st - Sat 3rd Ayrshire Beer Festival, Troon Concert Hall Sun 4th / Mon 5th Beer Festival take down Wed 7th Two Pub Social: Goldberry Arms / First Edition, Kilmarnock, 1pm/2.30pm

We love coming here

Please check www.awcamra.org.uk for up-to-date details of all Branch events.

Mon 9th / Tues 10th Wigtownshire social trip to Kendal area.

Email: wigtownshire@awcamra.org.uk for details Thurs 15th North Ayrshire Social, JG Sharps, Largs, 8pm Mon 26th Committee Meeting, Merito, Dunlop, 8pm Wed 28th East Ayrshire Social, Brass & Granite, 7.30pm Sat 31st Oct Beer Festival Staff Outing - Sulwath Brewery NOVEMBER Fri 20th Branch Meeting and North Ayrshire Social, Kilbirnie Beer Festival, time TBC Wed 25th Nov East Ayrshire Social, Venue TBC, 7.30pm DECEMBER Sat 5th Dec Two Pub Social: Bruce’s Well / McKay’s, Troon, 1pm/2.30pm Mon 28th Festive Crawl, Kilmarnock from 1pm

by Sue Hughan, Dundee

Arran, for us, has long been a haven of peace & tranquility; a place to relax and unwind in our busy working lives. You’d think that, having technically ‘retired’ Jim would have plenty time for relaxing but now he’s running a micro-brewery, life’s busier than ever, so we need our visits to Arran all the more!

Nowadays when we come across to the island, we deliver beer to Dave at Catacol Bay Hotel, our most westerly customer. It’s a great excuse - as if it were needed - to spend a bit of time catching up with the friendly staff there, along with the regulars like John who has, literally, made his mark on the spot at the bar where he can be found most evenings!

There are two hand-pulls at Catacol. Timothy Taylor’s Landlord is a regular, while the second is for guest ales. MòR Tea, Vicar? was on when we arrived recently, followed by Barney’s Volcano - at 5% not for the faint-hearted! - and by the end of our stay the MòR Calm & Wise was selling well.

Meals are served every day from noon until 9pm but there’s also a superb value-for-money lunchtime buffet laid on every Sunday. When the sun shines the beer garden is a must. With stunning views over the Kilbrannan Sound, we’ve spent many a happy hour enjoying a good pint (or five...) of real ale, just chatting to visitors and locals alike, watching the sun set over Kintyre.

Perfect!”

Ed: As mentioned in the last edition of Full Pints, Dave is looking to retire from the hotel after many successful years. Anyone interested in taking ownership, it is now officially for sale through GSPC for offers over £350,000.

28

www.awcamra.org.uk

GETTING AROUND Social Outing to Isle of Bute Listed below are some useful contact details for transport providers in our Branch area.

Stagecoach West Scotland

www.stagecoachbus.com Tel: 01294 607007 (Ard) 01292 613500 (Ayr) 01776 704484 (Stran) 01770 302000 (Arran) 07736 892253 (Disability Helpdesk)

Shuttle Buses

www.shuttlebuses.co.uk Tel: 0800 072 0373

ScotRail

www.scotrail.co.uk Tel: 0344 811 0141

Caledonian MacBrayne www.calmac.co.uk Tel: 0800 066 5000

Traveline Scotland

www.travelinescotland.com

On 19th September, we’ll be running a trip to visit the relatively new Bute Brewing Company in Rothesay, Isle of Bute. We’ll be getting the 1200 ferry from Wemyss Bay, and aim to spend two hours at the brewery, until about 3pm. Thereafter, there’s an option to catch a local bus to Port Bannatyne (10 mins) to visit the Port Inn, or alternatively you can stay in Rothesay and visit a couple of the pubs there, before catching the 1730 ferry back to Wemyss Bay. We’ll be using public transport for this trip, and there are various options available. Stagecoach 585 bus leaves Ayr at 0830. Various trains leave Ayr, changing at Paisley Gilmour Street. On return last 585 bus for Ayr leaves WB at 1910. Check our facebook page for more travel details. To book your place and check costs, please contact our South Ayrshire Social Secretary, Caroline Munro at south-ayrshire@awcamra.org.uk.

Trading Standard Details Irvine: 01294 310100 Kilmarnock: 01563 576602 Ayr: 01292 616060 Stranraer: 03033 333000

Full contact information can be found on your local authority website: www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk www.dumgal.gov.uk

29

YOU'RE DUE A CHANGE

Autumn 2015

EDINBURGH’S ORIGINAL PALE ALE www.edinburghbrewing.co.uk

NEW BEERS IN BOTTLE!

UPCOMING SEASONAL BREWS

WHERE REAL SCOTS CRAFT REAL ALE 30

WWW.BROUGHTONALES.CO.UK Tel: +44 (0)1899 830 345 Email: beer@broughtonales.co.uk

Home of the famous Old Jock Ale

www.awcamra.org.uk

WIGTOWNSHIRE NEWS

by Malcolm McNeill

Stranraer Beer Festival

This year, the festival was moved from last year’s venue, The Old Granary in Hanover Street, to The Grapes, Stranraer, due to toileting problems. The organisers, Billy Hodge and Sally Whorlow of The Grapes, along with Ian Murray, all local CAMRA members, put in a huge effort in decking out the courtyard and sourcing a superb range of 8 beers, many of which were past National Award Winners (CBOB).

Those on offer ranged from a mild (Rudgates) through golden ales (Ossett, Robinson’s and York breweries), a classic bitter (Coniston), IPA (Thornbridge) and even a barley wine (Coniston No. 9). In addition, Portpatrick Brewery supplied their new Gulf Stream, Dorn Rock and Fog Horn for the public bar. Black Rat and Old Rosie real ciders were also available.

There was live music in the public bar on the Friday evening and Stranraer Brass entertained in the upstairs lounge on the Saturday afternoon. A donation was subsequently made to Band funds by Billy and Sally. The Beer of the Festival was named as Thornbridge Jaipur – no real surprise there!

In spite of wet weather,it was pleasing to note the good attendance of local CAMRA members, as well as the general public taking advantage of the opportunity to savour these classic ales. All the beers were finished either by the Sunday of the festival or by the following mid-week and the organisers hope to hold the festival again next year.

“Our Wigtownshire” Article

Kendal trip, 9th - 11th October

This is a new periodical launched earlier this year

by The Wigtown Free Press (our local paper). Their reporter was given a copy of the Branch’s Wigtownshire Ale Trail and he visited several of our outlets mentioned. There is a nice 3-page full colour feature in the magazine, accompanied by photos of publicans and pubs. The magazine is on sale at newsagents and shops throughout Wigtownshire and costs just £1.50.

This trip has been organised by Keith and LynnMarie Stebbens of Portpatrick Brewery who have family and friends in the area. We will be based in Kendal Travelodge, but will meet up in the village of Cartmel, about 15 miles south of the town for a Brewery visit and lunch.

Friday night sees a night out in Kendal. Saturday is a morning in Kendal (market day) with a Brewhouse visit and tapas lunch, followed by a public transport trip to Ings village (microbrewery), returning via the Hawkshead Brewery Beer Hall in Staveley. On Sunday we hope to visit Coniston Brewery and Windermere after breakfast, along with a ferry trip across the Lake before returning home. Contact wigtownshire@awcamra.org.uk for more details.

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Autumn 2015

• Real Food • Real Beer • Real Atmosphere 27 Main Street, Kilmaurs, KA3 2RQ Tel: 01563 538805 www.westontavern.co.uk

Great food and local Real Ales from Arran, Houston and Kelburn breweries Sundays – Ceilidh band sessions New house ale brewed by Kelburn Brewery

Tel: 01505 850510 www.thecannyman.co.uk

Find us on the A736 Irvine to Barrhead Road, at Lugton 32

www.awcamra.org.uk

Portpatrick Lifeboat Week

by Malcolm McNeil

Friday 7th August saw a group of members heading for “The Port” to take in the Beach Raft Race, held as part of the Annual Lifeboat Week.

An added bonus was the launch of Portpatrick Brewery’s new beer, brewed especially for the week. Following suggestions from the public in a competition the name chosen by the crew was 16-21, the registration number of Portpatrick’s Tamar-class RNLI lifeboat, the John Buchanan Barr.

On a lovely summer’s night amongst a big holiday crowd, we were fortunate to get hold of some outside seating in front of the Crown Hotel and enjoyed sampling the new beer. Unfortunately for the thirsty participants the cask was emptied before the end of the race!

Group photo of some CAMRA members

Portpatrick Lifeboat

The general feeling of everyone we spoke to was that 16-21 was one of the brewery’s best beers so far and it will now be a permanent brew. In addition to it, a good pint of Courage Director’s was available in The Crown, along with Schiehallion and Old Speckled Hen in the Harbour House Hotel next door. A great evening out in a fabulous, busy, quayside setting. For the record, a sum in excess of £30,000 was raised to support Lifeboat 16-21 during the week. A great effort.

AVAILABLE NOW!

33

Autumn 2015

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34

A Campaign

of Two Halves

Fai www.awcamra.org.uk r 7EZI on dea b MXEMR W tax eer l &V4Y FW now !

Join CAMRA Today Complete the Direct Debit form and you will receive 15 months membership for the price of 12 and a fantastic discount on your membership subscription.

Alternatively you can send a cheque payable to CAMRA Ltd with your completed form, visit www.camra.org.uk/joinus or call 01727 867201. All forms should be addressed to the: Membership Department, CAMRA, 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 4LW.

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Campaigning for Pub Goers & Beer Drinkers

01/15

Enjoying Real Ale & Pubs

Join CAMRA today – www.camra.org.uk/joinus Instruction to your Bank or Building Society to pay by Direct Debit Please fill in the whole form using a ball point pen and send to: Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. 230 Hatfield Road, St.Albans, Herts AL1 4LW Name and full postal address of your Bank or Building Society Service User Number To the Manager

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If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd will notify you 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed.

If you request The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit by The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society - If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when The Campaign For Real Ale Ltd asks you to You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society.Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify us.

35

Banks and Building Societies may not accept Direct Debit Instructions for some types of account.

Autumn 2015

First Edition Kilmarnock - 4 Cask Ales - Weekend DJ’s - Food served daily

/FirstEditionKilmarnock1

@FirstEditionKil

50 Bank Street, Kilmarnock, KA1 1HA | 01563 528833

36

www.awcamra.org.uk

Crown Hotel 2 regularly changing ales

including the new Portpatrick Brewery • Bar meals available noon-9pm • • Restaurant menu available from 6pm • • AA Awarded Seafood Pub of Scotland 2005 • • Folk music most Saturday nights • Bed & Breakfast available from £45 per person per night MIDWEEK SPECIAL: STAY 2 NIGHTS, GET 3RD NIGHT ½ PRICE (based on 2 people)

9 North Crescent, Portpatrick, Wigtownshire DG9 8SX Tel: 01776 810261 Email: info@crownportpatrick.com

37

Autumn 2015

Our range of Award-winning Real Ales includes:

Hand Crafted, Award Winning, Traditional Cask Conditioned Ale Brewed in the Heart of Burns Country All ales are available in Firkins (72 Pints), Pins (36 Pints) and Mini Casks (8.8 Pints) Ayr Brewing Company, 5 Racecourse Road, Ayr KA7 2DG Telephone: 01292 263891 Fax: 01292 830450 Mobile: 07834 922142 www.ayrbrewingcompany.com 38

Stop picking on our pubs, they are force for good The following article by CAMRA National Chairman, Colin Valentine, first appeared in The Scotsman

I recently attended a reception in the Scottish Parliament where the MSP hosting the event said something that caught my attention. The Scottish Government, they said, seemed obsessed with two things – the amount of money that the whisky industry generates for the Scottish economy, notwithstanding the fact that most of it goes into the coffers of multinational drinks conglomerates (although that is an argument for another time) and those people who have alcohol-related problems. What this doesn’t take account of is the 90-odd per cent of us in the middle who neither work in the whisky industry nor abuse alcohol. Politicians are too quick to talk of Scotland’s troubled relationship with alcohol – something that I simply don’t accept is the case.

The vast majority of people who drink, whether it is beer, wine or spirits, do not abuse alcohol and suggesting that a whole country has a problem, especially at a time when alcohol consumption is on a historic downward trend, strikes me as lazy politics and that the specific issues relating to alcohol abuse are not being properly addressed.

What is even worse is that, when writing and broadcasting stories about alcohol-abuse figures, media outlets will use images of real ale being poured through a hand pump – one of the lowest-strength drinks available in pubs.

As I have said many times, whatever issues there are in this country with alcohol abuse, well-run community pubs are part of the solution and cheap supermarket hooch is almost the whole problem. Wouldn’t it be more apposite to show a photograph of someone coming out of a supermarket with a trolley laden down with industrial quantities of cheap booze?

Pubs, and those of us who still use them, seem to have been forgotten in the headlong dash to label Scotland as a nation of inveterate drunks who need saving from themselves. The pub industry is one of the most heavily regulated sectors of the Scottish economy, yet despite this pubs continue to be a big source of employment for people under 26 – the very group that have suffered the most in terms of employment opportunities in the economic downturn – to raise millions of pounds for hundreds of charities and to be the hub of community life across the country. It is a place to meet friends, old and new, exchange news and gossip and participate in community-focused activities. It is very well known that talking to people, especially if you live on your own, is good for your mental health.

What publicans need now is not favours, but fairness. Pubs are the only businesses where their business rates are dependent on their turnover, rather than the rateable value – a representation of annual rent that the property could be let for on the open market – where successful businesses are penalised in this way, and the Scottish Government should start by launching an investigation into this anomaly with a view to subjecting entrepreneurial publicans to the same business rates regime as everyone else. Figures from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre show that publicans pay an average of 14.7% of their trading surplus in non-domestic rates, while the national average for all business, excluding the financial sector, is 4%.

No matter what some people may think, in virtually every case, an empty pub does no-one any good. The Scottish Government is investigating the possibility of introducing a market-rent-only option for tenants of large, pub-owning companies to ensure that they have at least the same rights as their colleagues in England and Wales. It is surely not too much to ask that they do the same in respect of business rates.

With an election only ten months away, now is the time to lobby all political parties to ensure that they have policies in their manifestos that give the pub trade some much-needed fairness and get behind an industry that is a force for good in Scotland.

LAST ORDERS

Yet, even since the implementation in 2009 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, more and more regulations have been heaped on the trade – it is almost as if politicians think that by closing pubs, alcohol abuse will fall because then it will be left to the big, cuddly supermarkets to sell all alcohol and everything will be fine where, in actual fact, the opposite is true with alcohol-related crime and health issues rising in line with the supermarkets’ increasing share of alcohol sales.

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At Sulwath Brewers we give you the chance to see the craft of brewing in action, and to taste our speciality ales at our fully licensed brewery tap visitor centre.

Open Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm Off-sales also available

The Brewery, King Street Castle Douglas, DG7 1DT www.sulwathbrewers.co.uk

Telephone: 01556 504525